Şükran Moral was born in Terme near the Black Sea coast in the far east of Turkey. She was only able to attend secondary school with the support of her mother, against her father's wishes. She studied at the university in Ankara. In 1989 she moved to Italy and studied again at the Accademia di Belli Arti in Rome.
She works with video, photography and installations. Her performances address the traditional roles assigned to women and everyday violence and oppression, especially in the patriarchal, traditional reality of life in Turkey. Central themes are also the social isolation of the mentally ill and people with special needs and the exclusion and defamation of migrants, transsexuals and prostitutes.